1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an inkjet head usable with an inkjet image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an inkjet image forming apparatus having an array inkjet head with an improved sealing structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an inkjet image-forming apparatus forms an image on a piece of paper by ejecting ink from a printing head (a shuttle type printing head) that reciprocally travels, at a predetermined distance apart from an upper surface of the piece of paper, in a perpendicular direction (in a widthwise direction) to the moving direction of the piece of paper.
Recently, a high-speed inkjet image forming apparatus including an array inkjet head having a nozzle unit that has a length corresponding to the width of paper has been developed. In this case, since the array inkjet head is fixed and only the paper moves, the driving apparatus is simple, and thus, a high-speed printing can be realized.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an array inkjet head of a conventional inkjet image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a portion of the array inkjet head of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the array inkjet head is assembled by sequentially coupling a first member 10, a second member 20, a third member 30, and a cover member 40. A plurality of base modules 31 is mounted on an upper surface of the third member 30 in a zigzag shape along the lengthwise direction of the array inkjet head. A head chip 32 is installed on an upper surface of each of the base modules 31. The head chips 32 are respectively connected to an electric wire unit 34. The base modules 31 are fixed on the third member 30 using a locking means such as screws 33.
The cover member 40 is combined with the upper part of the third member 30, and includes a plurality of opening holes 41 formed to expose the head chips 32 and a plurality of locking protrusions 42 formed on edges of the head chips 32 so that the cover member 40 can be fixed on the third member 30. A plurality of locking grooves 35 is formed on an edge of the third member 30 corresponding to the locking protrusions 42.
In the conventional array inkjet head, after the first member 10, the second member 20, and the third member 30 on which the base modules 31 are mounted are sequentially combined, the cover member 40 is combined with the third member 30. Thus, the head chips 32 are exposed through the opening holes 41, and gaps between the head chips 32 and the opening holes 41 are sealed by coating an adhesive 50 around the exposed head chips 32.
However, since the cover member 40 is fixed on the third member 30 using a plurality of locking protrusions 42, and the gaps between the cover member 40 and the third member 30 are sealed by coating the adhesive 50 around the head chips 32, the following problems occur.
First, the adhesive 50 is coated further higher than the head chips 32 since the adhesive 50 is coated around the head chips 32 after the cover member 40 is mounted on the third member 30. As a result, the wiping operation of the head chips 32 may be impossible since the adhesive 50 protrudes higher than the head chips 32.
Second, since the sealing is performed around the head chips 32 using the adhesive 50, the sealing may not be properly performed, thereby contaminating and damaging the head chip 32 and the array inkjet head. As a result, ink can penetrate into the third member 30, and thus, the electric wire unit 34 connected to the head chips 32 can be disconnected therefrom.